Batman

The trailer for “Batkid Begins” is out, offering a first look at the emotional documentary about a young leukemia survivor whose superheroic wish is granted. The film, from director and co-producer Dana Nachman, follows then 5-year-old Miles Scott, a cancer patient who told Make-A-Wish Foundation he wanted to be “the real Batman.” “When we’re going about doing a wish, it is whimsical in thinking about what would wow that child,” Patricia Wilson, executive director of Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, says in the trailer. “And it gives them a little bit of their childhood back that’s been robbed.” With the help of more than 12,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish transformed San Francisco into Gotham, helped Miles become Batkid and orchestrated a comic-book-worthy adventure that unfolded in front of a national television audience and internationally via social media. “Batkid Begins” isn’t Hollywood’s only take […]

DC Comics has announced that August will be DC Bombshells month, and Hero Complex readers get a first look at the variant covers for “Batman,” “Catwoman,” “Detective Comics” and “Superman/Wonder Woman.” For the uninitiated, Bombshells is a line of collectible statues that reimagines classic DC characters in the vintage style of World War II-era art. The Bombshells line has expanded to other items such as posters, apparel and accessories, and DC made it the variant theme last June, with titles such as “Batgirl,” “Harley Quinn” and “Superman” receiving the Bombshells treatment. DC Bombshells variants: ‘Batman’ No. 43 | ‘Catwoman’ No. 43 | ‘Detective Comics’ No. 43 | ‘Superman/Wonder Woman’ No. 20 DC has also announced a new Bombshells comic book series written by Marguerite Bennett with art by Marguerite Sauvage. “DC Comics Bombshells,” which begins in July, will be an […]

The villains on Fox’s “Gotham” were often thought to be the most compelling part of the pre-Batman show, and Robin Lord Taylor, aka Penguin, may have been the breakout character among them. The actor made a few memorable comments during his Emmy contender video chat with Los Angeles Times reporter Greg Braxton. You can watch the entire chat above, or over on Show Tracker, but we plucked out five moments from Taylor that may give a little more insight into how the actor connects with his character and the show in general. 1. How his journey on the show parallels that of his character, Oswald Cobblepot. In a way, I’m coming into [“Gotham”] with a low status, working with someone with incredible status such as Jada Pinkett Smith — and she is absolutely fabulous, both on-screen and off — finding […]

Provocative comic artist Frank Miller is returning to ‘The Dark Knight.” Miller is at work on a second sequel to his 1986 classic,”‘The Dark Knight Returns.” DC Comics said in a release that this will be the conclusion of the saga. Titled “The Dark Knight III: The Master Race,” the work is being co-written with Brian Azzarello. Artists have yet to be announced, but the comic will arrive this year. “The Master Race” will run for eight issues and be published twice per month. “Batman remains my favorite comic book hero and a sequel to ‘Dark Knight’ is going to be daunting,” said Miller in a statement, “but we’ll do our best.” Miller tweeted Friday a picture of promotional art for the series, adding, “I hope that by now my silence is deafening.” It was Miller’s first tweet since October 2011. “We are […]

Batman and Superman fans may finally get a glimpse of the upcoming DC superhero tent pole movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Director Zack Snyder took to Twitter on Wednesday evening to tease an upcoming trailer, which will screen Monday at select IMAX theaters. Confirmed 4.20.15 #BatmanvSuperman @IMAX special teaser screening events. Limited space. RSVP http://t.co/TasYGlJGig
https://t.co/fnxFIERUlv — ZackSnyder (@ZackSnyder) April 16, 2015 Snyder posted a 20-second video featuring the eponymous characters’ costumes and their superimposed symbols, along with a link to a website where fans can reserve seats at “special teaser screening events” — screenings of a teaser trailer with a “special intro” from Synder. Events that are full offer the option of joining a waiting list. “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” is a follow-up to Snyder’s 2013 film “Man of Steel,” and is expected to unite DC Comics’ most […]

DC Comics’ Jeff King did double duty at Anaheim’s WonderCon. The writer of the comic company’s major crossover series “Convergence” also served as the moderator of the comic convention’s panel designed to hype the comics and hopefully answer a few questions about the upcoming special event. It may not have completely succeeded in the latter, but with some of the interesting pairings and crowd-pleasing images, it certainly did OK with the former. Like its rival Marvel’s Secret Wars event, the people speaking about the comic book super series could not reveal too much about what was about to go down. However, an all-star panel consisting of Len Wein, Scott Lobdell, Dan Jurgens, Marc Andreyko and colorist Peter Steigerwald did show images from the titles that they’d be working on, and all talked a bit about how their characters would fit into the “Convergence” universe. First, King did go […]

Batman versus Superman’s grandmother? Batgirl cavorting with a vigilante rock star? The many differing personalities of the comics in the Bat-world came into focus early Friday on the first day of Anaheim’s WonderCon. Let’s get this out of the way: There was no news regarding Convergence, a huge crossover storyline that promises big changes to the DC universe. Convergence, however, will be addressed in a Saturday panel. The Bat-discussion centered on new characters, as well as the upcoming portrayals of a couple of old favorites. The panelists — Tom King, Greg Pak, Babs Tarr and Brenden Fletcher — kept up a lively discussion in a room at the Anaheim Convention Center. Moderated by Tiffany Smith from DC All Access, each creator spoke enthusiastically about their projects, and where their books are heading in the immediate future. Pak started it all off talking […]

It’s been a long bat-time and it’s a different bat-channel, but Adam West and Burt Ward appear to be heading back to Wayne Manor. The two dropped the news at a convention over the weekend in Charlotte, N.C., telling the assembled crowd at the Mad Monster Party that there will be at least one 90-minute animated film to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 1966 film “Batman: The Movie.” Insert full-color “POW!” and “ZAP!!” animations here. PHOTOS: Batman actors through the years Well, hopefully. A spokesperson for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment declined to comment, saying the company will only speak on “official announcements.” Ward, however, was far from quiet about the proposed project. “You can look forward to a new animated ‘Batman’ full-length 90-minute feature, coming out on the 50th anniversary,” said Ward, who portrayed Robin for the campy film and series. The […]

Actor Jesse Eisenberg looks sinister as Lex Luthor in the first image from the upcoming “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” He’s less built than the Luthor in the comics, but just as bald. The image — a black-and-white portrait of the actor in character — surfaced on Entertainment Weekly on Wednesday morning. Eisenberg is hardly the first actor to go bald for a villainous role on the big screen. The film world has often depicted characters with a penchant for evil with shiny noggins. Max Schreck’s blood-hungry performance in the 1922 horror film “Nosferatu” is hauntingly hairless. More recently, Karen Gillan got sadistic in hues of blue as Nebula in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Before Eisenberg, Kevin Spacey took a turn as DC Comics’ wealthy supervillain in “Superman Returns.” Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor: Twitter reacts to Batman/Superman casting Plenty […]

Trouble looms for Bruce Wayne thanks to a mysterious new adversary in “Batman: Arkham Knight,” DC’s next Digital First comic release. Written by Peter J. Tomasi (“Batman and Robin”) with art by Viktor Bogdanovic and Art Thibert (with colors by John Rauch), the new series arrives as a prequel to one of the summer’s most anticipated game releases, Rocksteady’s “Batman: Arkham Knight,” out June 2. (The spoiler-averse should proceed with caution.) Set after the events in depicted in 2011’s “Batman: Arkham City,” the story begins with the Joker dead and Arkham City now closed. Nursing old wounds, Bruce Wayne begins to question whether Gotham still needs Batman. Before long, though, a shadowy new villain emerges, summoning the weary hero back into vigilante justice mode. “Batman: Arkham Knight” kicks off with a three-part story, “Death of a Rival.” The first chapter […]